The very first post-bankruptcy, Chrysler-brand advertisement was a true re-badge, literally replacing Lancias with Chryslers in the exact same advertisement. The second spot, which we ran yesterday, was a vague, year-end spot emphasizing history and heritage while showing only one modern car. Though it’s not a strict re-badge like the Lancia ad, the new Chrysler ad is, at the very least, based on some serious platform-sharing. Specifically the ad above, an Italian-language spot for the Fiat Group, is thematically identical to the Chrysler ad.
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In the first unique Chrysler brand spot since bankruptcy, America is referred to as ChryCo’s “traveling companion.” Which is a bit rich, considering the American people were generous enough to spend billions pulling the wreck that was Chrysler out of a ditch less than a year ago. Who knows, maybe the term “unwilling investors” didn’t play so well in the workshops, a possibility that might also explain why only a single modern Chrysler vehicle (the 300) is allowed to punctuate the ad’s gauzy nostalgia. In any case, notch up another Chrysler Group ad that says nothing about anything that might give one hope for the firm’s future. Ironically enough…
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Amid the cries of shock around the blogosphere at the sudden death of the Kia Borrego, another tidbit of more consequential Kia news remains undercovered. And it’s actually bigger Ford news than anything else. Ford had deal with Microsoft for exclusive access to the technology underlying its Sync system. But with Ford’s 18 month term of exclusivity expired, Kia is set to formally announce its Sync-alike at next Tuesday’s International Consumer Electronics Show. Shooting for the middle ground between Ford’s apt “Sync” brand name and Fiat’s asinine “Blue&Me” moniker, Kia has called the system “Uvo” (Short for “Your Voice,” believe it or not).
“They don’t write songs about Volvos,” proclaimed an infamous Chevy billboard once seen in the Detroit area. Of course it wasn’t strictly true, but then Chevy’s two most recent forays into musical marketing, Volt Jingles versions 1 and 2, weren’t exactly “Little Red Corvette” either. And the trend seems to be holding: quality car-inspired music is slipping away. Even this song, the first Saab-inspired tune I’m aware of, is a wholly forgettable drone about fighting Saab’s inevitable closure. It’s not as bombastically awful as, say, the infamous Mercedes “One Goal” tune, but you know automotive culture is in trouble when the only music it inspires is about the closure of a niche Swedish nameplate. Unless the lyrics “we’re gonna make it, not gonna break it” has some kind of mysterious resonance for the daily Saab driver that I’m not getting. Either way, the world of car-inspired music needs some work.
Subaru wasn’t the only automaker who bucked the misery in 2009, but it was one of the most consistent sales performers month after month. As a longtime Subaru aficionado, my initial diagnosis was that Subaru moved upmarket just as its brand equity was peaking. The brand’s new, flashier interiors, along with upsized redesigns of the Forester and Outback may not have been my cup of 30-weight, but they put the brand on more shopping lists among the automotive mainstream. That’s at least part of the message of Automotive News [sub]’s dissection of Subaru’s strong year, as Subie insiders reveal that more tech toys, better rear legroom and more “sophistication” were important in making Subaru products live up to the inherent “premium-ness” of their AWD platforms.
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Next up in our impromptu series of car ads featuring spurious comparisons: the Smart as Supercar. Not buying it? Hey, it’s still better than comparing your car to a pair of socks.
Yes, several 2009 Dodge products are more desirable than a pair of socks. Unless of course they’re really nice socks.
Ford’s pointy-headed crew of sales forecasters have been compared to the original “Whiz Kids” and credited with a major role in Ford’s (relative) success in the last year. But you can’t calculate everything through statistical analysis, and it seems the models coming out of Ford’s Global Lifecycle Analytics Department failed to take irrational enthusiasm into account. Which is frankly, fairly understandable. The $37,000+ Taurus SHO starts at a full $12k more than a base model, making it a 365 hp halo more than a legitimate sales threat, and yet Ford’s forecasters seem to have underestimated demand for the turbocharged model, with at least one dealer reporting an 80 day wait on a sold order. “It’s a problem for our dealers,” Ford’s Jim Farley admits to Automotive News [sub], “we’re definitely catching up on the demand.” Mid-range SEL trim levels have also been underproduced, says Farley, along with F-150 double cabs. “If you don’t call it, you miss that opportunity and customers don’t see what they want to buy.”
Marketing runs Amarok, as VW exhumes German 80s rockers The Scorpions to promote their new South American pickup.
The first time we posted the video for They Might Be Giants’ song “Electric Car,” TTAC commentator rollosrevenge noted:
I love EVs and am pretty fond of They Might be Giants, but that was the one of the most annoying songs accompanied by the one of the stupidest music videos ever. It belongs as the theme song/video for the Volt.
And guess what? If Bob “Chrome” Lutz had his way, it could have been.
The Argentinian-produced Volkswagen Amarok pickup might be coming to the US if VW thinks it can sell enough of them. VW of America’s Stephan Jacoby tells pickuptrucks.com “we’d have to sell at least 100,000 Amarok pickups to make it feasible.” But don’t get too excited: the only compact pickup to sell in those numbers is the Toyota Tacoma, which sold 102,327 units year-to-date.
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Sure, GM Sales and Marketing maven Susan Docherty is better at the webchat format than CEO Ed Whitacre (not to mention Mark “HOT DESIGN” Reuss). Docherty’s emoticon-free performance certainly beat Whitacre’s for sheer volume, but even when she’s talking a lot, Docherty isn’t really saying much of anything. Since GM is generally operating under radio though, today’s webchat is about all we have to go on for a taste of life in the RenCen as a turbulent year sweeps to an equally turbulent close. So let’s dig in, shall we?
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Autoextremist Peter DeLorenzo is an interesting figure in the auto commentary landscape. Though TTAC has often taken the pioneering car blogger to task for inconsistencies (especially during bailout mania), it’s no surprise that DeLorenzo’s ability to see things as they are comes and goes. After all, the guy is the quintessential insider’s outsider: as a former marketing and ad man, the Autoextremist is always in the Detroit tent… the only question week-to-week is whether he’s going to be pissing out or pissing in. Well, this week the deluge is headed straight for the part of the tent occupied by GM’s new CEO Ed Whitacre and his activist board. And it smells of well-aged vintage Deathwatch.
But before I get into Whitacre’s executive moves, you’re probably gathering I’m not buying “Big Ed’s” act, and you’d be right. After doing some digging around Whitacre’s previous executive life at AT&T, it’s easy to come away with a highly unflattering portrayal of GM’s “interim” CEO. First of all, the “aw shucks I’m just a country boy who has a few good ideas” persona is total bullshit. In his previous executive life Whitacre was known as an arrogant know-it-all who was never wrong, never listened to reasoned advice and who brought absolutely nothing to the table of his own on a day-in, day-out basis. Shocking? Hardly. Anyone who thinks The Peter Principle isn’t alive and well in corporate America today is kidding themselves.
It’s officially unanimous: literally everyone thinks the new Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler ads from Sergio Marchionne’s brain trust are crap. Sure, you knew that TTAC doesn’t think much of the spots, but were you aware that Chrysler’s dealer council has requested that Chrysler stop showing the ads? Sadly, Bloomberg only quotes one dealer on the plea, who explains that
it is a little difficult for us to understand because it is far different from what we were used to seeing. The message to us is that it is branding, branding, branding, and maybe that will work.
Another gem the department of oversharing at The Ford Story:
This may seem a little weird but its not common, On Oct.27 2009 i started having labor pains, Here in Hawaii everything is so close but it was about 8:00 am and traffic here is horrible. My husband and i left to the hospital expecting a normal delivery and no problems, well like i said traffic is horrible here what would of been 30 mins to the hospital ended up as an hour drive with my husband driving down the side lanes and finally calling for a police escort, the whole time this was going on i went into labor while sitting in the front seat and holding onto the anything in the car. I gave birth to our daughter 10 mins away from the hospital in the front seat of our fusion!! With all the crazy driving screaming and yelling we got there safe with our new little girl and no damages to the car inside and out!.I’ve got to say thank you Ford for making a spacious Safe car that got us safely to the hospital…
Ford Fusion: now with placenta-repelling leather seats. Seriously, does this even qualify as a testimonial?
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